Social capital in agribusiness: an exploratory investigation from a supply chain perspective during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has badly affected the global economy. The use of social capital as a resource to diversify agribusiness to get more customers and improve the agricultural supply chain is a considerable issue to explore. This study aims to develop a comprehensive measurement of social capital and examine its effect on the intention to diversify agribusiness. From a supply chain perspective, it uses theory of planned behavior (TPB) and resource-based view (RBV).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a mixed-methods approach. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and surveys are used. Structural equation modeling on a sample of 465 respondents in Vietnam was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships.FindingsAn integrative measurement scale of social capital from an agricultural supply chain perspective is suggested. The study also shows significant causal relationships amongst social capital, motives, TPB's determinants and the intention to diversify agribusinesses in light of supply chain perspectives.Originality/valueThe study offers a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the literature on social capital, motives, TPB, RBV and supply chain perspectives. The study was executed in Vietnam, where most farmers are smallholders, family business owners or micro-scale entrepreneurs in agriculture.

Sustainable agribusiness entrepreneurship during the Covid-19 crisis: the role of social capital

“…Finally, the study also showed that the interaction between CSC and RSC is significant and positive. This result provides empirical evidence for the implication of Lang et al (2021b) regarding the interplay between aspects of social capital in the agribusiness context in an emerging market. The finding also supports and increases the generalizability of the previous works of some scholars in this area (e.g.…”

“…Therefore, this research aims to investigate the influence of these two social capital types (i.e. CSC and RSC) on agricultural entrepreneurs' SAE intentions in the context of the negative impacts of COVID-19 (Singh et al, 2020;Sodhi et al, 2021), global issues (Enders and Remig, 2016;Sazvar et al, 2018) and the needs for sustainable agribusiness development (Squalli and Adamkiewicz, 2018;Kumar et al, 2021;Lang et al, 2021b).…”

“…Besides, many current global issues (e.g. loss of biodiversity, climate change and poverty) are interconnected and make sustainable development necessary (Enders and Remig, 2016), especially for agribusiness (Kumar et al, 2021;Lang et al, 2021b). Sustainability and climate change are also strongly tied together (Gonzalez et al, 2018).…”

“…Although the agricultural sector only accounts for 14.05% of the total GDP, 65.57% of the overall population is heavily dependent on agriculture (GSOV, 2020). Furthermore, the rapidly changing business environment and the ongoing negative impacts of COVID-19 have disrupted the global supply chain, leading to lost customers for many agricultural businesses (Lang et al, 2021b). This context creates an instant need to develop sustainable-oriented agribusinesses (Kumar et al, 2021).…”

Exploring human resource work design, learning mechanism and TQM: through the lens of activity theory and contextual learning theory

“…For redesigning work, it is advisable to incorporate work elements that have been extended through our analysis (section 5) and theoretical contribution (section 6). The application should consider how the HRD managers or other managers find themselves in manufacturing alone or clubbed with service orientation (Lang et al, 2021a(Lang et al, , 2021b. Further, collaborative HRD practices (Chen et al, 2021) must cater to work roles that are becoming complex (Lee and Lee, 2018).…”